Republican Lawmakers Urge White House to Sanction Chinese Hackers

Three Republican lawmakers urged the White House to do more to sanction China-backed cyber attackers who steal U.S. intellectual property. In a July 20 letter, Reps. Michael McCaul, R-Texas; Greg Walden, R-Ore.; and Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., said Chinese hackers are more frequently targeting U.S. agencies to try to steal information and public health data related to COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.

The lawmakers said the Treasury Department has “not sufficiently imposed” sanctions on Chinese hackers or Chinese entities that benefit from the stolen data. “We believe the time may be ripe for considering such action,” the letter said. “These actions must have consequences.” If the U.S. does not impose designations, the lawmakers said, U.S. sanctions regimes will lose their “deterrent effect, and we will only see these cyber-attacks from the [People’s Republic of China] escalate.”